Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by thagr81us:

Served from bottle into Mikkeller taster flute. Poured hazy golden yellow with minimal white head. Maintained excellent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, fruit, wood, caramel, earth, and subtle earth hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, fruit, wood, earth, dark fruit, caramel, fruit hop, and subtle sweet alcohol. It had a light feel on the palate with high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty decent brew. There was quite a bit going on in this one if I'm honest. Fairly complex and very refreshing throughout the glass. Nice notes going on for the style. Really glad I got the chance to try this one and suggest that you do the same.

More User Reviews:

Poured into a tulip glass a hazed goden with a deep orange hue, thinner than expected white head atop.Belgian yeast in the nose along with some candied ginger,some lemon seems to come through after awhile as well.I found the flavors to be one dimensional in the phenolic clove/spice department,a bit medicinal but not really any complexity in my opinion.Eh its not horrible it just lacks alot of dimension.

This stuff was on tap at New Beer in NYC this week. (They called it Rogue Menage) The growler has been in my fridge for about 24 hours. Pours cloudy lighter apricot, nice looking tight bubble head, decent retention then a nice crop of fine lace. Belgian yeasty, fruity nose, muted tropical life savers come to mind. Pleasant, soft and easy drinking. alcohol well hidden. Notes of more ripe/tropical fruit. Sweet and yeasty. packing a nice punch @ 9%, Rogue flexing their Belgian muscles and showing their versatility and willing to brew all types of styles. Nice stuff, very enjoyable, easy drinking and heady stuff...happy to try on tap/growler...and under $10 for 1/2 gallon, gotta love New Beer...

Tap @ Rogue Ale House SF. Poured clear gold with a short white head. Some lacing in tulip glass. Tangy, sweet aroma with lots of clove, pear, white apples, and alcohol. Touch of Christmas spices. Taste was much better. Clean, popping flavor. Spice up front with the frutier notes in the background. Alcoholic overtone strengthens as the beer progresses. Enhanced flavors with a highly carbonated body. It was good, but tended to build up in stickiness as you drank.

Had a bottle of this one brought over last night for a try. i have heard mixed things regarding it, but for bottle apprearence alone it was nice. The pour was decent, a nice light golden amber with a small head of white on top. A decent amount of side glass lace and a touch of carbonation floating up toward the top.

The smell was a nice smattering of earthy fields of yeast and a touch of light floral hops. Nice cereal grains in the back as well. The flavor was decent, a little soft for a triple though. A ton of hops for the style with a light earthy feel to it. The overall feel of it was nice thlugh with more then adequate carbonation and a tight little profile. For 9% it was extremely drinkable and really the alcohol was completly undetectable.

Overall it was not bad, alothough I have had much better. Ended up using the rest of the bottle in the night ending blend, and that really brought out the hops for sure. Not bad, but there are better out there.

This was a decent but not exceptional tripel. Color was light golden/straw color. While the flavor was there, it wasn't too varied and definitely was not delicate like the best of tripels. It was a bit syrupy for a tripel really. I guess, it was kind of like a tripel crossed with an old stock ale. Although not entirely successful. With that said, it was still good. It was easy enough to finish the bottle, and still enjoyable. It just doesn't get anywhere near a Westmalle for example. Recommended for a try if you don't have to spend too much. Otherwise, you're not missing too much.

This is a 2 year old bottle, purchased around this time in 2006 and then promptly forgotten about in the fridge at my parents' place, where it has remained unmolested - until today, that is. The bottle is waxed, capped AND corked, which probably means that it has held up just fine. Let's find out.

Appearance: Startlingly clear for a bottle conditioned ale, bright and golden in color, with a fluffy two finger head. Fine bubbles can be seen streaming to the surface, sustaining the head and providing plenty of stickage as the glass drains. This is as good as it gets for the style, as far as I'm concerned.

Smell: After the glorious pour, the aroma is a bit of a let down. That isn't to say that it's bad, but it is lacking in boldness. Green apple skin is the first thing that comes to mind, coupled with subtle notes of clove and white pepper.

Taste & mouthfeel: I've had this on draft a couple of times over the years and found it to be too sweet for my tastes, so I was fully expecting this to be a difficult bottle to finish - not so. In contrast, the bottled version is crisp, crackery and dry, exactly the way I like my tripels. I also have to note my love for the recipe, which is printed on the side of the bottle: pilsner malt, saaz hops, candi sugar, Trappist ale yeast (it doesn't specify which monastery, but I'm guessing Westmalle) and water. How beautifully simple, a quality that most American breweries don't seem to grasp when it comes to Belgian style beers. Most, if not all of the great Trappist ales are made with bare-bones recipes and let the yeast do the talking, no need for 5 different varieties of malt. There's a touch of bubblegum, clove and lemon peel in here, along with a pleasant husky grain-like quality in he finish, but on the whole this is fairly clean and crisp, somewhat of a mix of Duvel and Westmalle Tripel. While hardly sweet upon first hitting the palate, the sheer dryness of the finish is downright impressive, and given the age of the bottle, it still has a firm bitterness. I wish every Belgian beer had a mouthfeel like this.

Notes: I regret that I didn't save this for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, this would be an unbelievable food beer, especially paired with savory turkey gravy and tart cranberry sauce. And now I'm curious to try a fresh bottle to see how it stacks up against this aged one. I can't really imagine it being better fresh, though.

Much thanks to egajdzis for bringing this Tripel(one of my fav styles) per my request...
Cool looking 750 mL with a wax tipped cap.
Appears a very hazy orange gold with a 1 finger white head that slowly fades out. Streaky lacing is left around the glass.
Smell is of citrus, yeast, light tartness, apple skin, some Belgian goodness...but a bit off key. Seems more like a wheat beer gone awry.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with tart apple skin, bubble gum...just really overkill on the esters with not a whole lot of anything else going on.
Mouthfeel is tart, acidic, apple-ish, yeasty, medium bodied, and infected.
Seems weird that they went through all the trouble to safe lock this beer with the cork, cap, and wax and it still tasted like wild yeast got into the mix and gave it a vinuous feel. Hmmm...I'd like to revisit this if they did it again and they supplied the sample of course.

Had this beer with my sister and brother in law at the Rogue Public House. I had the I2PA and he had this beer. As i've said in previous emails I don't like the glassware there and the quantities are kind of odd. However, this beer is pretty good for a Trippel and I would look forward to having it in the correct glassware in the right circumstances.

Pours a clear golden color with a small white head that vanishes. Minor speckled lacing on the glass.

Smells of pilsner malt and extremely fruity grapes. None of the Belgian spicy / yeasty smells I enjoy in a tripel. Very odd smelling.

Sweet pilsner malt taste upfront that becomes even sweeter as it becomes so extremely fruity - with a distinct taste of grapes. Finishes sweet and fruity - both of which linger.

Medium body, low carbonation.

Well, calling this beer a tripel is like French kissing your gandma - it's just plain wrong. This beer is not undrinkable, as the unusual taste is mildly amusing. But, if you're looking for a tripel - keep on looking.